Challenger nudges Java, Node.js for Swift app dev

PerfectlySoft is continuing to promote Apple's Swift language for use in server-side development with its modularized Perfect 2.0 framework, which will vie with Java and Node.js.

Open source Perfect is for the server side of mobile application development, accommodating functions like back-end data access. PerfectlySoft CEO Sean Stephens has ambitions of competing with Node.js, the popular server-side JavaScript platform, and even Java. "There's a huge opportunity for enterprises and organizations that are using Java, where Swift is as performant as Java but easier to use."

Version 2.0 focuses on modularity, requiring developers to assemble only the capabilities they need, such as MySQL database access. "Perfect 2.0 is actually smaller than Perfect 1 because you only use the pieces that you want, not all the pieces at the same time," Stephens said. Modularization reduces overhead and makes it easier for developers to know what they are getting, he added. The first version of Perfect was released in November. Swift, Apple's successor to Objective-C, was introduced in June 2014.

Perfect 2.0 supports Swift 3.0, the latest version of the language, which is still in a preview release, though PerfectlySoft anticipates Swift 3.0's general availability shortly. The framework is compatible with Swift Package Manager, which also is new in Swift 3.0 and allows developers to manage code dependencies across large projects, the company explained. Perfect 2.0 supports Redis and Filemaker as data sources and XML and Zip as file formats; WebSockets Web communications is supported as well. During the next few months, PerfectlySoft anticipates adding access to more data sources, such as the Oracle database.

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